Generally, vending and gaming machines include various peripheral devices that may be mounted within the machine. Examples of peripheral devices include currency and other document acceptors (e.g., coin and bill validators) that receive currency inserted into the machine and determine the denomination and validity of the inserted currency. Other examples of peripheral devices include card readers (e.g., debit card readers, credit card readers, smart card readers, and other electronic data card readers).
Typically, the overall costs associated with vending and gaming machines tend to increase as the time expended by service personnel installing and servicing such peripheral devices increases. Factors that may contribute to the time required of service personnel include how quickly the peripheral device can be mounted in the machine and the extent to which tools are required to install the peripheral device. Other factors can include whether the mounting mechanism includes loose parts and whether the mounting mechanism is sufficiently flexible to be compatible with different types of machines or different models and brands of the peripheral device.
Mounting techniques that leave the peripheral device susceptible to vandalism also tend to increase the costs associated with maintaining and servicing the vending machine. For example, FIGS. 19 and 20 illustrate an example bill acceptor conventional mounting for a vending machine. As shown in the FIGS. 19 and 20 examples, a bill acceptor 12 typically is mounted to a front door 14 of a vending machine 10. The bill acceptor 12 can include a flanged mounting plate 16 and a ‘nose’ portion 18 that protrudes through an opening in the door 14 of the machine 10. Currency can be deposited into the acceptor 12 by feeding bills through a bezel on the ‘nose’ 18 of the acceptor 12. Generally, screw studs 20 and retaining nuts 22 extending through the edges of the flanges just behind the ‘nose’ 18 of the bill acceptor 12 unit are used to mount the bill acceptor 12 in the machine 10. In these conventional examples, vandals can remove the bill acceptor by hitting the studs until the acceptor is detached. Since most of the force is absorbed by the front of the machine and the studs, costs associated with maintaining these type of machines and peripheral devices are heightened.